HISTORY OF MBAUKWU VILLAGE

                                HISTORY OF MBAUKWU COMMUNITY

MBAUKWU was know as Ebeteghete  in the first place ,Mbaukwu and Umuawulu were brothers till they divided ,Mbaukwu went it own way and Umuawulu went on its own way .Then Mbaukwu had five (5) villages :URU,AKABOR,NAMKPU,OGBA AND OVOLLO. URU becomes the first while OVOLLO is the last village in Mbaukwu. Mbaukwu never had a king at the beginning but a leader by name UCHENDU until during the regime when GOWON is the President declared that all the igbo community should have a king that will be ruling them, then Mbaukwu now appointed a king called His  royal highness  Igwe  PETER ANUGWU who is currently on the sit.The five (5) villages in Mbaukwu is recently subdivided into various villages again.i.e AKABOR has two villages inside it which includes:umuoba and umuezeunne.Mbaukwu kingship is said to be rotational and not by inheritance, that is, after the tenure of the present king the next village will rule .Mbaukwu king does not have a fixed time /date for his offala festival but due celebrate it at his own suitable time  and date. The present  king His Royal Highness Igwe DR Peter Anugwu has had his offalla festival three (3) times till date.

At the olden days Mbaukwu was among the villages that kill twins,.they stop the killing of twins when the father to the first PRIEST in Mbaukwu REV.FR EBEDEAGU rescued a twin which is currently the father of the current catechist of ST DOMINIC CATH. CHURCH MBAUKWU. And also with the help of the churches  that came in to Mbaukwu killing of twins stopped.

Catholic church came in to Mbaukwu in the year 1933 then Anglican came in also but before the coming of these churches Mbaukwu people were idol worshippers.

Mbaukwu have their cultures, believes  and traditions. They also have  occupation they engaged in especially during the olden days. They also have traditional festivals which they perform.

                OCCUPATION OF MBAUKWU INDIGENES ESPECIALLY DURING THE OLDEN DAYS                 ARE:

1.   Farming

2.   Production of gun powder

3.   Trading

4.   Palm wine tapping

5.   Blacksmith

6.   Handcraft such as weaving of basket, mats and making of brooms

7.   Production of local soap cream like the oil extracted from palm kanel(ude aki)

                             THEIR FESTIVALS

·         New yam festivals

·         Eri ede festivals

·         Ajukwo

·         yam festivals of Mbaukwu was eri isi ji in the olden days  but  moden  generation has named it new yam festivals .This festivals is celebrated on every second Saturday of every month of september ,it is an annual event. Rusting of yam is the first necessary thing to do according to custom on this very day.

On the festival day homage is paid to the king by the community and village excutives , friends to the king and also well wishers. Then later that day each villages will gather in their own gathering square were their  will come together as one family to celebrate the new yam festival and the king also pay each of visit at that gathering square  there are gathered.

After which everybody go back to their various home to celebrate with their family members. Enough New display and show is performed to entertain  people .

This celebration last for two days that is Saturday and Sunday, there is also masquerade displayfor this two days.

·         Eri ede mostly celebrated by idol  warshippers , is celebrated village by village that is to say that each village in mbaukwu has when to celebrate their own, unlike the new yam festival that is celebrated together by the five villages .Eri ede is done turn by turn according to Igbo four market days by the villages, there is masquerade display also for this very celebration.

·         Ajuwu this is celebrated on the night of eri ede ,here masquerade comes out at night to parade ,women are not allow to see this particular masquerade even some men too are forbidden from seeing it.

                

                         MBAUKWU TRADITION AND BELIEVE       

In  Mbaukwu community pythons are not killed or eaten. It is believed  that  pythons are not harmful  ,and also see it as ancenstoria spirit so they don’t kill or eat python in Mbaukwu. And   if by accident some persons or people kill it they will have no option but to perform the necessary rites according to the law of the land, they can be ask to burial it the same way human beings are buried just that the church will not celebrate any service or mass for the departed python.

Tortoise in Mbaukwu tortoise is not killed or eaten ,if killed the person  responsible will go and buy another tortoise to replace the one he killed.

Also is believed that when an old man die masquerade will go and round the grave after the burial for reasons best know to them .Though this practice is not active because some of the indigenes are not in support of it and the church also kicking against it saying that even if this practice must be carried out should be on the grave of an idol warshiper because they are the ones in support of it not on the grave of a church member.

Also during the olden days , now modern practice is changing everything ,when an Mbaukwu daughter go to live with a man that have not aid her bride price ,and the girl in question gave birth for that man no matter the number of children she had for that man those children must answer the girl fathers

Name not the man, because the man did not pay the girl bride price, so he don’t have any right over those children.

During the olden days if u hung yourself you will not be buried u will be thrown inside the evil forest because is suicide and people that commit suicides are not buried, also if you die with swollen stomach  you will not be buried.

When a wealthy man die during the olden days he will be buried with some humans head.

Also before any married daughter of Mbaukwu will be buried in her husband house on the day of the burial her husband people will bring her corps that is her died body for her people to see and confirm that she is the one, and the cause of her diet will be narrated and their effort to save her life will be questioned even before her burial date is fixed.

                                    TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE IN MBAUKWU

   When a guy is interested in their daughter, the guy will come with his people a bottle of hot drink and four kola nut sizable ones to the girl house to know if the girl people will accept him as their son in law, the girl also will be consulted to know if she too accept the guy this process is known as introduction.

When the guy is accepted he will go back to prepare for the girl bride price and wine carrying some will do everything same day including the traditional marriage why some will not for those that will the marriage list will be given to them on the day of introduction.

 On the day to pay the bride price there is no fixed price for it any amount can be accepted some people when  they gets bigger amount  they take small amount from it and return the remaining amount with the saying that they are not selling their daughter, after that the traditional marriage will start if is meant to be done that same day and after all necessary rites at the end the girl will go with the husband  and if the traditional marriage is not carried out that same day the girl will still go with her husband as far as the guy has paid her bride price because is believed that once a man pay the bride price of a woman  she becomes his wife automatically.

NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA

FALCULTY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

NAME EKPEHA NKIERUKA EVELYN

REG NO 2015204001

COURSE TITTLE ORAL TRADITION

COURSE CODE LIS 203

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC THE HISTORY OF MBAUKWU CULTURE, BELIEVE AND TRADITION

LECTURER MRS OBIAMALUMU

DATE MARCH, 2017